Postal strike: At-a-glance guide to a Royal Mail UK walkout

As the threat of the first UK postal strike in two years looms – with Royal Mail workers voting in support of a nationwide walkout – we take a look at what is happening and how a potential post strike could affect you.

What were the results of the postal strike ballot and how likely is a national strike?Royal Mail workers have voted in favour of a national strike. Almost 81,000 CWU members took part in the ballot, a turnout of 67 per cent. A total of 61,623 backed strikes, with 19,207 against, a majority of 76.24 per cent. There’s still an opportunity to reach an agreement before any national strike action takes place. The union is seeking reassurances on job security covering both redundancies and fair workloads.

Strike: Christmas post would be severely disrupted

What regional strikes are already planned?Postal workers in Bristol will launch a 24-hour strike today, followed by a walkout tomorrow in Kilmarnock, London, Carlisle, Coventry, Chelmsford, Hatfield, Leeds, Nottingham, Swindon and Warrington.

How have regional strikes affected services so far?Estimations of the mail backlog created by the series of regional strikes in recent months are varied. The union claims that as many as 30 million letters, cheques and documents have been delayed but the figure given by the Royal Mail is significantly lower at five million.

What is the subject of the dispute?The union claims that jobs are being lost, pay cut and services reduced under cost-saving measures being imposed by managers. The Royal Mail has denies the claims and insists it was only pressing ahead with agreed modernisation of the business in the face of increased competition from rival firms.

What are the two sides saying?

CWU deputy general secretary Dave Wardsaid: ‘This is a huge vote of no confidence in Royal Mail management. The company has tried to make out problems only exist in some local offices, but postal workers across the UK have now spoken and they say ‘no’ to Royal Mail’s arrogance.Royal Mail has never really been engaged in modernisation. They’ve been running down the business, running down services and cutting costs and it’s that business plan that postal workers have overwhelmingly rejected today’

Mark Higson, Royal Mail’s managing directorsaid: ‘We have now successfully completed the major efficiency changes planned for 2009 and there is no going-back on them. These changes are absolutely essential if Royal Mail is to survive in an increasingly tough communications marketplace, and against a backdrop of sharply falling mail volumes in the UK and around the world. It makes absolutely no sense for the union to threaten and call strikes when Royal Mail is not planning any further efficiency changes for the rest of 2009. The priority facing Royal Mail is to deliver the best possible service to customers in the run up to Christmas.’

When will the strike happen?The vote in favour of a national walkout means the union has to stage some sort of strike action within 28 days, or the ballot will become invalid. If action is approved, it could start as soon as next week and last for several days. The union will have to give seven days notice of any national strikes, raising the threat of action before the end of the month.

How would a strike affect businesses and members of the public?The recent regional strikes have already left thousands of families and businesses facing bank penalty charges for late bill payments and threaten to disrupt the secondary school admissions process. A nationwide strike would effectively see the postal service grind to a halt. Business groups have already claimed that the strike could cost the economy £200million. The last national postal strike in October 2007, left an estimated 200 million letters and parcels caught in the backlog.

How will Christmas post be affected?The mail backlog is already so large that, even without a national strike, the Christmas post could be disrupted. Union representatives last week warned ‘post your cards now’ but it is already too late for a guarantee they will arrive on time if a national strike goes ahead. Meanwhile online retailer Amazon has said it is looking at contingency measures with other carriers to ensure it can avoid disruption to Christmas deliveries caused by a potential Royal mail strike.